The Chairman of the Delegation of the National Assembly of Hungary to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Jolt Nemeth sent a letter to the President of the PACE Theodoros Rousopoulos on 22 February regarding the resolution No 2527 (2004) passed at the PACE Winter Session to challenge the mandate of Azerbaijan’s PACE Delegation.

‘I strongly believe that in light of the Council of Europe's Statute reconfirmed by the Reykjavik Summit we should strive to achieve a greater unity among Member-States for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles we all share. This unity and the prospect of it are reinforced by dialogue with and among the Member-States. It is regrettable that our joint efforts have now been challenged by means of excluding delegations and interrupting the dialogue, which brought the Hungarian delegation to a decision not to participate at the adoption of this resolution. In our view, choosing this avenue should only be a last resort, after all instruments at hand have had been exhausted and has proved fruitless,’ goes the letter by Jolt Nemeth.

‘We also find it regrettable that the constructive intra-institutional dialogue established with the Committee of Ministers in the last few years and the practice of continuous consultations on issues of common concerns have been shattered by this decision creating a momentum of mistrust between the two statutory bodies. We believe that the participation of the delegation of Azerbaijan must therefore be urgently resolved, and we are confident that the recent debates and the related decision of the Committee of Ministers reflect this necessity.

‘In the light of the above I appeal to you to take decisive action with the political groups and allow the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to return to work of the Parliamentary Assembly as a matter of urgency, preferably already for the April parliamentary session. I am confident, that this would provide an opportunity for Baku/Azerbaijan to invite and prepare the visit the Council of Europe rapporteurs, and ultimately also to invite the Parliamentary Assembly to observe the next parliamentary elections.

‘In light of the above I would herewith like to reiterate our objection to the Resolution 2527(2024) adopted at the Winter session and offer my support and of my colleagues to work steadfastly on the return of the delegation of Azerbaijan to the Parliamentary Assembly,’ concludes the letter from the Head of the Hungarian National Assembly Delegation to the PACE President.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis